This week on Movie Reviews 2025, there’s true crime terror in the Netflix docu-film, The Carman Family Deaths; monster mayhem in the Norwegian action-adventure sequel, Troll 2; and Christmas drama-comedy in Oh. What. Fun.
Plus, the 1985 mystery-farce, Clue celebrates its 40th anniversary with a new disc release. Oh, and supernatural sequel, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 hits cinema screens!
—
Now streaming…
The Carman Family Deaths (2025)
First up this week is the true crime documentary, The Carman Family Deaths. Directed by Yon Motskin, the docu-film focuses on two mysterious deaths within a family from Vermont.
The story begins with a tragic incident at sea. Nathan Carman and his mother, Linda, go on a boat trip, but fail to return.
Eight days later, Nathan is rescued but Linda is nowhere to be found. Suspicion quickly falls on Nathan being involved with her disappearance, with the police and various members of the Carman family believing he killed her.
However, as the story unravels, it seems Linda isn’t the only member of the Carman family to have died under mysterious circumstances. Going back further in time, Nathan’s grandfather, John died from a gunshot wound, with his death unsolved.
Could Nathan have killed both family members, or is something else in play? The Carman Family Deaths looks to uncover the truth.
If you have an interest in true crime documentaries you’ll no doubt be aware Netflix has a lot of them in its portfolio. The streaming service is adding new titles all the time, and The Carman Family Deaths is one of the latest to arrive.
Most of these docs follow a standard formula, which is to stretch out a case to the Nth degree. The Carman Family Deaths is no different, and it does feel as if director Yon Motskin has taken a 60-minute story and padded it out for an hour-and-a-half.
That said, The Carman Family Deaths is fairly interesting, so even if it does run longer than it needs to, it mostly keeps the momentum going. It’s also important to remember this is a true story about multiple deaths, not a piece of fictional entertainment, and the doc does feel fairly respectful of this.
As a standard true crime documentary, The Carman Family Deaths does exactly what it needs to do. It sets out a story, finds ways to expand the depth of the crime, and provides some sort of resolution.
Does it feel conclusive? Not really, but unless there is any new evidence to the case, it does about as much as it is ever likely to do and that’s fine.
Should you wish to check it out, The Carman Family Deaths is now steaming on Netflix.
—
Now streaming…
Troll 2 (2025)
Also on Netflix is the Norwegian fantasy film, Troll 2. Directed by Roar Uthaug, and starring Ine Marie Wilmann, Kim Falck, Mads Sjøgård Pettersen, and Sara Khorami, the film is a sequel to 2022’s Troll, and features more monster mayhem.
Picking up a few years after the previous instalment, and with trolls posing a potential threat to humanity, the government has been conducting secret research on the creatures to learn more about them. This includes keeping one of the trolls – a particularly nasty one –
locked up underground, and contained in stasis.
However, when the troll gets loose and starts tearing its way through Norway, it’s up to Tidemann, Isaksen, and Holm (returning experts from the first film) to hunt it down. Oh, and they get a little bit of assistance from a nice troll, who seems keen to put the smackdown on his nasty counterpart.
If you cast your mind back to 2022, back when we were all trying to emerge from the grips of the pandemic, you may recall the release of Troll. The movie was a daft but likeable monster movie, very much in the vein of a Godzilla vs. Kong-style picture, and back when we were all starved of entertainment it was quite fun.
Three years on and although we are no longer starved of entertainment, I’m happy to report Troll 2 is pretty much more of the same, if not slightly better. As such, if you found enjoyment in the first film you will find enjoyment here too.
Oh, you won’t find much in the way of originality, and the story is practically non-existent (monster gets loose, has to be stopped), but what’s on offer works rather well. There’s a bit of peril here, a dash of mythology there, and some decent visual effects in between.
It all zips along rather neatly, without any unnecessary fannying around, and this means it delivers the goods as hoped. Yes, it could do with a touch more monster action, but the scenes that are presented are strong.
If you liked Troll or you simply have a thing for big monster movies then dive into Troll 2. Sure, it’s nothing particularly imaginative, but it is solid stuff nonetheless.
The creature effects are fab, the Norwegian landscape is beautiful, and all the mythological elements are fun. Plus, the cast are on good form, and there are some light touches of humour.
With a third entry teased via a mid-credit scene, it’s likely more is on the way, and this is perfectly acceptable. Troll 2 may not knock anyone’s socks off, but it does satisfy the imagination for 100 minutes.
—
On disc…
Clue (1985)
Over to disc now, and new to Blu-ray and 4K this week is the classic comedy ‘whodunit’, Clue. Directed by Jonathan Lynn, the movie stars Tim Curry, Eileen Brennan, Martin Mull, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Lesley Ann Warren, and Michael McKean, and follows the story of six strangers who are invited to dinner at a secluded mansion.
Each guest has a dark secret in their past, and each is given a pseudonym (Miss Scarlet, Professor Plum, etc) to protect their identity. And while they appear to share no connection, during dinner they discover they do have one thing in common: They are being blackmailed by their host, Mr. Body.
However, when Mr. Body is quickly bumped off, they have to work together to uncover the identity of the murderer. Only problem is, everyone is a suspect!
Originally released in December 1985 (which was 40 years ago for those keeping track), and inspired by the board game Cluedo (known as Clue in the US), Clue is without doubt one of the funniest, and liveliest films of the ‘80s. The movie manages to take the premise of the game, intertwine it with a great murder-mystery, and infuse it with wonderful gags and killer lines which makes it endlessly re-watchable.
From one-liners and stunt set pieces, to pratfalls and slapstick scenes, Clue is a tour de force of carefully calibrated comedy. All of the actors understand this, lean into their parts marvellously, and provide top notch performances.
The end result is one of the best game-to-movie adaptations of all-time. It’s one you can either play along with by attempting to guess the murderer, or you can sit back and allow events to unfold.
Although, if you do attempt to play along, you may not guess the outcome. The film contains three endings, which make it almost impossible to solve.
During its original theatrical release back in ‘85, screenings of Clue contained just one of the endings, meaning audiences got different experiences depending on when and where they saw the movie. However, post-theatrical release, all subsequent home video releases and TV broadcasts included all of the endings, edited together into one film.
This disc release is no different, but a special feature on the Blu-ray and 4K allows you to watch the endings individually should you want to do that. But why you’d want to opt for this is anyone’s guess, as it’s far more fun with them all slapped together.
Anyway, should you wish to grab a copy of Clue the Blu-ray is priced at £12.99, while the 4K edition is £22.99. You’ll find it at all good entertainment retailers (HMV, Fopp, Zavvi, etc).
—
Now streaming…
Oh. What. Fun. (2025)
Back to streaming now for the Christmas drama-comedy, Oh. What. Fun. Directed and co-written by Michael Showalter and starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Felicity Jones, Denis Leary, Dominic Sessa, Chloë Grace Moretz, Danielle Brooks, Jason Schwartzman, and Eva Longoria, the movie focuses on a dedicated mother whose hard work is continually overlooked by her family.
In the movie, it’s Christmas time and Claire welcomes her family home for the holidays. To ensure their time together is special, Claire throws her whole heart into making everything perfect, from the decorations and the food, to activities and more.
She doesn’t do all this for praise, but does hope her efforts are at least noticed. In particular, she would love it if her children would take the time to nominate her to win a best ‘holiday mom’ contest on a popular TV show hosted by her idol.
But with her children all wrapped up in their own lives, and taking Claire’s efforts for granted, the chances of her winning the competition are slim. It also seems as if her kids are less than enthusiastic about coming home for the holidays each year, so this period of family time could soon come to an end.
With a great performance from Michelle Pfeiffer (as always), a strong supporting cast, plenty of commentary about taking mothers for granted (especially at Christmas), and smatterings of humour, Oh. What. Fun. is an agreeable and somewhat honest account of being home for the holidays. Lives have moved on, Claire is trying to keep everything together, and no one seems to see how much of a faff it all is these days.
Yet, it’s an important faff, because once it all stops – and at some point it will – it won’t ever be the same. Claire knows this, doesn’t want it to end, and tries her damned hardest to make it magical.
All she requires is a bit of recognition to make it clear her family care, but when she doesn’t receive this, she hits breaking point. And as Claire sets off on her own Christmas adventure (which includes nods to the likes of Home Alone and Planes, Trains and Automobiles), her family are left with time to reflect.
There’s also plenty of time for the audience to reflect too, and take stock of what they have or who they should be thankful for. This can be mum, dad, or whoever is rushing round making things perfect.
The message here is clear: Stop and take note. Oh, and just enjoy it while you can.
With plenty of drama thrown at the screen, enough laughs to lighten the load, and that all-important message, Oh. What. Fun. is a strong and relevant Christmas movie. It may not be one to stick on the watchlist every year, but putting it on this year is a no-brainer.
The film is packed with heart and some words of wisdom. Should you wish to take a look, Oh. What. Fun. is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
—
In cinemas…
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (2025)
And finally, new to UK and US cinemas is the supernatural sequel, Five Nights At Freddy’s 2. Directed by Emma Tammi, the movie stars Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, Matthew Lillard, Skeet Ulrich, Wayne Knight, Mckenna Grace, and Teo Briones.
Picking up one year after 2023’s Five Nights at Freddy’s, this sequel sees Abby Schmidt attempt to reconnect with her animatronic pals from Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza restaurant. What follows is an incomprehensible plot involving a murdered girl, a science fair, a festival, a marionette, a music box, and some questionable acting.
Cast your mind back to 2023 and if you caught the first instalment in the FNAF movie series, you’ll know it was rubbish. The film was uninspiring and very, very dull.
Painfully dull in fact. Sleep inducing at times.
Did that prove to be an issue? Apparently not, because the movie went on to make more than $297 million at the box office (from a budget of $20 million).
As such, a sequel was quickly put into production and that’s why Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is now playing in cinemas. Thing is, this latest instalment is also rubbish too.
Actually, scratch that, it’s worse than the first film. I’m not sure how director Emma Tammi and writer Scott Cawthon managed to conjure up something so bad, but hey, here we are.
The story makes very little sense and largely relies on stuff and things happening; the characters are all very irritating; and the frights are non-existent. Oh, the movie wants audiences to be unsettled by things happening on screen – especially when a certain marionette pops up – but in order to be scared the audience would need to be awake first.
Watching Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is a chore. It’s a bore-fest of epic proportions.
And don’t even get me started on how much it under utilises its cast. Wayne Knight is wasted. Skeet Ulrich is wasted. The returning Matthew Lillard is wasted.
As for Mckenna Grace, she gets almost nothing to do, and yet somehow gets caught up in all the nonsense regarding a marionette, which has been mentioned THREE BLOODY TIMES in this review. Three bloody times for a character that seems chucked into the mix because presumably it all seemed like a good idea at the time?
Arggghhhhhhhh! It’s shite. Utter shite! What a waste of time and money.
Unless you’re an uber-fan of the FNAF franchise, avoid this movie like the plague. It’s complete bobbins, painful to sit through, and frankly quite annoying.
If you watch it, they will make more and no one needs that. And as someone who sits through enough drivel, please don’t force another one of these movies on me.
—
Movie of the Week
Onto Movie of the Week, and this week the title is going to two films: Clue and Oh. What. Fun. The first is a classic, always worth revisiting, while the second feels just right at this time of the year.
If you’re a fan of Clue you may also like to watch:
- Murder by Death (1976) – Clue’s Eileen Brennan stars alongside Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, and Truman Capote in this mystery comedy which features parodies of famous sleuths.
- Knives Out (2019) – Daniel Craig takes the lead in this excellent murder mystery from director Rian Johnson.
- Murder on the Orient Express (2017) – Kenneth Branagh directs and stars in this all-star adaptation of the famous Agatha Christie ‘whodunit’.
And if you like Oh. What. Fun. you might also like:
- Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) – John Candy and Steve Martin team up for this brilliant Thanksgiving comedy about two strangers travelling during the holidays.
- Home Alone (1990) – Macaulay Culkin leads this festive favourite about a young boy who is accidentally left home alone at Christmas.
- The Holiday (2006) – Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jack Black, and Jude Law share the screen in this popular Christmas rom-com about two woman who swap homes for the holidays.
—
That Was The Year That Was
That’s all for this week, but before signing off, you might like to take a look at the most recent edition of Movie Reviews Special which casts an eye over the past year in film. The Special offers an overview of all the major (and minor) movies of 2025, pointing out a few highlights and lowlights along the way.
Feel like you missed something? Then let Movie Reviews Special: 2025 In Film fill in the blanks.
Alex
—
—
Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this edition of Movie Reviews 2025. For more posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
It's A Stampede! 
Leave a comment